One night in JB...

just came back from taipei, hardly got any rest before i jetted out of the house to meet my jc classmates for a trip to JB. counting on my fingers, the last time i went to JB was... close to 4 years ago... can you believe it?

anyway, wanna thank them for organizing cos we wanted to meet up and go in for seafood dinner. 4pm at marsiling was the venue and meeting time. Junzhi came along to pick us up - Joanna, kwanhua and me. the usual laugher and dissing of each other was meted out throughout the trip and can never be missed whenever joanna and junzhi is ard or when junzhi and kwanhua is around. we had a good time laughing all the way till we reach home. a little bit of shopping was done before, we went off in search of a nice place for dinner based on the recommendations of Junzhi's pharmacist. its call 3 "lou", just off the beaten track and apparently according to him the seafood is damn nice, and fresh. we ordered quite a lot, coconut, chilli crabs, lala, bee hoon, rice, buns, some veg, prawns.. actually to our disappointment. the food was only so-so and they are all not that fresh. feeling disgusted and cheated, we decided to go to taman sentosa for 2nd round. its from the usual stall that i used to frequent, we ordered buttered shellfish and stingray... yums.. the difference in the level of cooking is obvious... joanna was claiming we were carrotheads to believe that pharmacist. wasted money on not so nice food...

we soon became harold and kuma of JB as we went in search of this nice chill out place that joanna recommend cos she used to go there very often with her friends. we went round and round in circles for countless times searching taman sentosa and taman perlinghi to find that place, after a few phonecalls den we finally found the place. Well, not to disappoint although the signboard suggested something not very good and to a certain extent, pathetic. the interior of the place was nicely done and kinda unique where u gotta remove your footwear before u can enter a "room" to order and chill... and thats what we did, sharing many stories, many photos and of course ghosts stories that freaked everyone out...

they went for the usual stuff before proceeding to the wanton mee noodles to end off the supper... the trip was really fun and i had very good company in joanna, kwanhua and junzhi who is so kind to drive us ard... we are meeting up soon... fri to go out, saturday mj and tennis soon i guess... thoroughly enjoyed myself today thou very tired...

Happy in Taipei...

always excited to go back to taipei, especially after the super fun trip in may with my batchies...

ximending was on the agenda and first stop as we were thinking of things to do first before dinner... Ah Zhong Mian Xian immediately came to mind as we sought something light to eat first. as usual the girls couldnt resist shopping in the ximen area before we headed over to Kampai for barbecued japanese food, based on recommendations from Angel. It turned out to be a very nice place, warm and crowded. there wasnt any seats or table for us in the first place as we tried to make reservations from the hotel but upon knowing that we are tourists from singapore, the owner of Kampai tried to squeeze the 5 of us in, so that we can enjoy the atmosphere and experience what its all about. I must say that the beef at that place is really really good and tasty, super succulent, soft and sweet, the difference in the quality is all blatantly obvious. One of the main reason why this place is so popular is because of its program at 8pm. the waiter and waitresses will be hosts of the program as they introduced each and every table and ours was kinda in the spotlight because we are tourists from singapore and was very warmly welcomed by the rest of the locals when we were introduced. after each and every table was introduced. there was this challenge of french kissing for 10 seconds and for every couple that manage to complete the task, a plate of ox's tongue is on the house. of course there are a few couples which did it. After which was the toasting where everyone raised their mugs and kampai, the next drink was on the house from the owner... no wonder this place popular... Angel and me loved the place, think Bin, Eileen and Tisha enjoyed themselves very much too... thanks for the recommendations Angel, there was photowhoring for memories sake, and we made friends with the waiter who was serving us, his name is Ah Ji... gave us his namecard so that we can contact him the next time we come... such a nice chap... talk about the warmth of the taiwanese people...

after that was going to the famous shilin market, more shopping and food followed... needless to say... before we retired for the night. the next day, woke up at noon time to visit Jay Chou's restaurant along Zhong Xiao Dong Lu... being Jay's fans, we naturally go a little crazy and hope that we can catch him there... but well, who can be so lucky all the time.. we merely had photos to show for our trip there.. but the food is real tasty thou.. and of all people who walk in.. i met shaosheng there... so surprised to see friends overseas, esp when u dunno that they are there, and they happen to walk into the same restaurant and at the same time... something which amazes me till now... after lunch we went our separate ways, as i wanted to go to taipei 101, angel is going for haircut and eileen and tisha went shopping. took lotsa photos at taipei 101, before i headed over to meet angel to go find the girls together. at the hair saloon, we saw Heidi there and according to Angel, Jenny was there before her.. hehehz.. waited for quite a while before i grew a bit irritated by my own hair that i asked for a haircut too... it was a simple nothing special haircut but i must say that the service is really good... i had the longest hairwash and massage ever at a salon and i really like my hair now.. though the hairstylist merely layered my hair all the way, something which is very normal but its kinda refreshing.. maybe its a psychological effect... but least i know how to tell the hairdresser next time i go for a haircut.. just layer it all the way...

it started drizzling after we are done.. cos of that eileen and tisha went back to the hotel first... me and angel craving for local food, wandered around before deciding to go to ximen again for some lu lou fan and local fried oysters and smelly beancurd..that pretty much summarizes the trip this time round... one more coming up next month... i hope its fun too... and i hope i get to see the pretty hotel staff... this time i must make sure i take photo with her and get her name... she works in the afternoon shift 2pm onwards till late evening i think.. slim and spots a pony tail..

so far away...

since meeting you that day.. i have been thinking of you... not head over heels but you were there in my mind... so good to see u again.. strangers at the start... warmed up, close and pushy at the end... a bit flirty and playful maybe...

i know you are not ready... but i cannot fathom you... i cannot read you, dunno what you are thinking... i mustn't appear too eager, besides i dunno what you think of me... exchange Jay Chou's songs is blissful... especially 周杰倫 - 06.失落非主流
was renamed from 说好的幸福呢... thats your favourite song for now...

说好的幸福呢 9:00 AM

一堆绘画凌乱着
在这个时刻
我想起斑鹃般的白鸽
甜蜜散落了
情绪摸名地拉扯
我还爱你呢
但你断断续续唱着歌
假装没事了
时间过了 走了
爱情面临选择
你冷了 倦了我哭了
你开始的不快乐
你用卡片信写着
有谁爱只给到这真的痛了
怎么了 你累了
说好的 幸福呢
我懂了 不说了
爱断了 梦怨了
开始你不该信疑 一心述着你再不舍
那些爱过的感觉都太深刻 我都还记得
你不等了 说好的 幸福呢
我错了 泪干了 放手了 后悔了
只是回忆那音乐盒还旋转着
要怎么停呢

Random People @ a dinner... A Reunion at Timbre...

Just touch down from london, ling asked me for ktv... i am really tempted.. but fatigue got the better of me... in the end... suppose to meet for dinner... arranged to meet at cineleisure for japanese pasta... and meet yoyo for drinks after that... reaching cineleisure, i got a nasty shock cos out of the group of people, ling was the only one i know, the rest are just random...

a bit sian lah.. thought can catch up with friends, in the end turn out gotta entertain others oso... not exactly in the mood cos of the tiring flight i guess. and not especially i haven seen yoyo for so long...

dinner was good.. the japanese pasta is real yummy... which probably explains the queue... after that we were suppose to head to timbre for some drinks... Ling says her friends is playing there.. upon reaching there... ling was talking to someone who looked damn familiar... i couldnt believe my eyes when i took a 2nd look.. it was Yang Xi... he still pretty much look the same except bigger in size... i was surprised how small this world is... and ling couldnt believe that i knew him and haven seen him for 10 years.

and yeah.. he is doing performance full time now, performing at different nightspots with his bandmate Nug, i must say they really can sing... i enjoy their singing... i shall patronize more often... sitting down by singapore river... nice singing.. and a beer.. good for relaxing... i was very happy last night... firstly i saw yoyo outside... den i met a pally who was missed for 10 years... and he was damn shock to know that yibo got married... den it was kaiying's brithday, so coincidental that she was there celebrating with her colleagues... and she is yongqi's exgf... den after we were leaving, i saw huazai in his friend's car and he called out to me... wat a coincidental night.. and i saw someone from hall too.. just cant remember his name..

after that was supper at macs cos yoyo got sudden craving for macs and after that weiling sent her home... i will post the pics soon.. and send yang xi a copy of them... wat a wonderful night... and i actually miss yoyo, and i told her about it this morning, she din believe me.. and i had to play along that i was joking...

London Revisited...

been ages since i last go London, didnt realise how much i miss the place till i am there.. COusins who were there studying are now working... friends who weren't there, are now there working oso... and as usual there isnt enough time to meet up with everyone else. Elisa, an exchange student during my uni years, i din get to see her this time round. not Yunshan or Stephen, not Christina who is in Reading, neither is Lawrence and company... Kelvin in Cambridge and lots others... sorry guys, not that i dun want to but i am suppose to run an errand for my aunt, thats why i couldnt find time.

interestingly, i found my namesake on flight. first that i met someone who has the same name as me.. well not exactly but at least its the same spelling. so we are damn fascinated and couldn't stop calling each other Jingpei... oh... by the way.. Jingpei is a She.. and surprisingly, she stay damn near me!!! Another surprise in store is that my FIN, Laura, was on the flight too.. super senior, super nice and though she hardly remembers me, she still recognises me...

met Jillian almost immediately after touchdown for dinner... had to pass her the stuff that auntie asked me to bring over. After dinner, we strolled around River Thames, updating each other of our lives and visited Tower Bridge, which probably is the last thing in London city itself which i have yet to visit. The next day i met the guys for breakfast, typical English breakfast with muffins. Undecided where to go, the original plan was to go to Windsor Castle, but i guess we all woke up too late to make the trip there. The alternative was to go to Greenwich, but none of the rest seemed too keen. Irwin went alone to Wimbledon, to visit the tennis courts. According to Jill, Hampstead is a very nice and beautiful place. Bath is also very beautiful. all those are added to my places to visit for my next London trip. I cant wait to go back actually. In the end, the rest of the day was spent wandering around London City and revisiting the sights and of course the St Paul's Cathedral. Lotsa photo taking cos i cant wait to test my new camera. later in the evening, its down to Oxford Circus for some last minute shopping and we wanted to visit this restaurant called Cha Cha Moon which according to Jill has very nice food.
But upon reaching there, the queue itself is almost as much as the people dining in there, we had to give up and settle for something else before heading back. That briefly summed up this eventful London trip and with the promise of more to come the next time i go...

Places to visit at the next London trip: Cambridge, Wimbledon, Greenwich, Bath, Windsor Castle and things to do... watch a play and open my bank account. not forgetting walking through Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square.

Maldives and Hong Kong

this took a while...
but its gonna be short and sweet...
after growing so cliquish with Viviane on the Houston flight, she asked me to change to her Maldives flight to go Maldives together... and so i did, surprisingly besides her that was on the flight, my batchgirl serene was on the flight too and another super nice girl, Shan Shan, whom i worked with before and last but not least, Samuel whom i went Shinjuku and Los Angeles with. thought its gonna be a super fun flight with so many people i know around.. but the other colleague didnt wanna change flight with me, cos its his first time there, so Samuel changed with me cos he wasnt keen in the first place. All in all it was a fun relaxed trip, a beer for chill out after touching down... waking up early in the morning for sunrise... breakfast with my batchgirl at the beach and catching up... spent the afternoon at the beach with the rest of the colleagues, fun fun fun... except that i realised how much weight i actually put on in Paul's photos, its time for exercise and healthy lifestyle... I wish i had more time in Maldives though, i can go to other islands to visit and do diving, i haven dived for so long....

Called up for Hong Kong night stop, its absolutely sinful when you just made a resolution to lose weight on the previous flight and there they send you to the land of yummy food. Supposed to meet Serene (another friend) there for supper and Yibo who went back to HK after wedding, but time not permitting, i only managed to go to Espirit Outlet and splurged the entire allowance there.. sigh... then it was supper, had wanton mee and who could resist Hui Lok Shan mango desserts.. went with Celest and Jaz for desserts after wanton mee... okies.. there goes my resolution... after that Jaz brought us to "his" pub at Miramar Hotel to chill out. the variety of drinks there is certainly very different from those in Singapore. I had a Sake Pomelo cocktail...totally refreshing and different. that calls for the night before we went back to hotel for the much needed rest.